FAYETTEVILLE – Starting in 2018, the NCAA’s summer recruiting dead period increased from a week and-a-half to a full four weeks, but that doesn’t mean things are slowing down for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Chad Morris’ program can’t host or initiate contact with prospects during the dead period – which runs from June 25 through July 24 – but several of the Hogs’ top targets could make their college decisions during that time frame.
One of the biggest, both figuratively and literally, is offensive lineman Triston Miller of Charlotte (NC) Country Day. The 6-5, 285-pound lineman plans to announce his choice on Friday, and it’s likely to come down to Arkansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, North Carolina State and Wake Forest.
Miller made his official visit at Arkansas on April 20 and said the Hogs were “pretty high in my top three” shortly after leaving town.
He’s made stops at three of the other contenders since then, but the Razorbacks still lead his “Crystal Ball” commitment predictions on 247Sports with 43 percent of the votes going in favor of Arkansas.
A day after Miller makes his call, the Razorbacks will find out if they’ve done enough to beat Texas A&M for Houston (Texas) Madison four-star cornerback Bobby Wolfe, who made his official visit in Fayetteville in early June.
Wolfe, 6-1, 180, has twice been committed to the in-state Aggies, and it’s rare for a prospect to choose the same school on three different occasions. In fairness, it’s not often that a recruit de-commits from the same school twice, so Wolfe is almost impossible for the experts to predict at this point.
Some close to Arkansas’ program believe the Razorbacks will pull off a recruiting upset, but the Aggies lead with 73 percent of the Crystal Ball predictions and Jimbo Fisher’s program did receive Wolfe’s most recent visit a week after he left Fayetteville.
A few weeks after Wolfe’s announcement, Arkansas stands a good chance at adding one of its most coveted wide receiver targets as TQ Jackson of Jefferson (Texas) plans to decide on July 21. The Razorbacks have obvious reasons for feeling optimistic, as Jackson told HawgSports.com that he plans to be back in Fayetteville for another visit on July 27 – just six days after he makes his announcement.
Jackson, 6-3, 180, is a longtime target of Morris’ staff dating back to their time at SMU. The big receiver visited Fayetteville for an unofficial visit in February and has long been considered an Arkansas lean.
The Razorbacks currently lead TCU, Baylor, Texas Tech and others in the Crystal Ball predictions with 88 percent of the votes on 247Sports.
In addition to the aforementioned, there’s always a chance Arkansas could see a commitment or two come out of nowhere at their Woo Pig Cookout on July 27 – an event that typically produced multiple commitments during Morris’ time at SMU.
Two prospects for fans to watch include Memphis (Tenn.) Whitehaven offensive lineman Melvin McBride, 6-4, 315, and Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy defensive end Eric Gregory, who is also originally from Memphis. Both targets are close friends with current Arkansas four-star wide receiver commitment Shamar Nash, another Memphis native who officially called the Hogs after his official visit last month.
McBride visited the Razorbacks unofficially in March but just received an offer from the Hogs two weekends ago. He has a top group of Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee, Memphis and South Carolina.
Gregory, 6-4, 240, is currently committed to Memphis despite owning offers from seven different SEC schools.
The Razorbacks currently have a total of six verbal commitments for the Class of 2019.